A personal note from Cllr Caroline Reeves as she stands down

When I moved to Guildford in July 1988 I promised myself that I would give my daughter a safe and comfortable home. This was after several years of frequent moves, and the prospect of concentrating on making a Victorian house into a home was a great distraction. The cellar was still full of coal, there were gas mantles around the house, a copper in the kitchen for hot water and a gas geezer in the 'modern' bathroom that shook and gurgled as if it was about to explode, delivering a mere dribble of hot water. As the work progressed we began to build our life here, neighbours became good friends and I realised what a lovely community I had stumbled upon. My daughter grew up and realised the value of living in the town centre and we became a regular stopover after Friday and Saturday nights out and everyone enjoyed the transformation of the house into a home. I became more involved in the local community, setting up a residents association that morphed into a Facebook group in 2010, getting involved in local issues before standing for election as a borough councillor in November 2005. Since then being a councillor has basically taken over my life. I have enjoyed (almost) every minute of it, have had some extraordinary experiences and met an amazing group of people from all walks of life.

A daughter with an adventurous attitude has meant I have travelled the world to see her, and gradually the house has been completed. The arrival of lockdown has changed life for all of us, and when the family came to be part of my 'bubble' I began to think differently about life and living alone, especially when I turned 70 last year.

And so I am stepping down as a borough councillor and will be moving with my daughter, her partner and my granddaughter to start a new life. We plan to set up a glamping business in a different part of the country.

I have loved living here, being part of a very supportive community in a gorgeous part of the world. Obviously, a plan like this in the middle of a lockdown is not straightforward, but I seem to have a habit of doing things the hard way, and if I'm going to do something like this I should do it sooner rather than later. Thank you to those of you who have supported me, especially in my ward of Friary & St Nicolas. Our Facebook groups in the ward have been great community success, and the response of the community to the pandemic has been heartwarming - a true reflection of the community spirit that we have here.

With very best wishes,

Cllr Caroline Reeves
Guildford Borough Councillor for Friary & St Nicolas Ward